


What Can I Say Except You're Welcome

by Theonewhosawitall



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Dad Steve McGarrett, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Ohana, Parenthood, Snacks & Snack Food, Sometimes parenthood turns up on your doorstep, SuperSEAL, parental figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26943256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: Sometimes children turn up on your doorstep in the middle of the night and then you just have to deal with that.
Relationships: Rachel Edwards & Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett & Grace Williams
Comments: 3
Kudos: 184





	What Can I Say Except You're Welcome

When Steve opened the front door he had been expecting somewhere in a helmet holding a paper bag full of food. Possibly too much food. He hadn't eaten all day and he was starving. Sometimes on days like this, with cases like todays, he forgot to eat and then when he remembered his stomach got carried away. Or maybe it was fate taking control so he was prepared for an unexpected visitor.

Grace had pulled her hoodie tight around her middle to defend against the cold, but beyond her shorts her legs were still exposed. She didn't have any shoes on either. When she looked up at him she could only hold his gaze for a moment before looking down at her feet. Her eyes were red and there were streaks down her cheeks like she'd been crying.

Steve recognised the look. He'd seen it a thousand times before. For whatever reasons, she didn’t have anywhere else to go, and didn't know what else to do. Wordlessly, he stepped aside.

She sniffed, and hurried into the warmth. Neither said a word as he shut the door behind her, and moved into the kitchen.

Danny was settling in to bed for the night when his phone beeped. He cursed under his breath, hoping it wasn’t another case. He was still aching from the last one. When he reached over to check it though, it was just Steve. 

_it's okay I’ve got her._

Danny yawned. With no idea what he was talking about, he decided not to respond. Instead he set his phone back down on the table and settled in for sleep. 

"Hot chocolate okay? It's either that or coffee, and it's too late for that," Steve said.

"Mahalo," was all he heard in response. 

Grace had curled her knees up to her chest on the couch like she was trying to take up as little space as possible. Steve wandered upstairs to find a blanket for her. He laid the blanket over her legs and set the hot chocolate on the coffee table as he sat down at the end of the couch.

That was it.

She glanced over at him, uncertainly. Steve didn't react. He just settled in to watch the TV as if this was a regular occurrence. One not worthy of note. Grace shifted awkwardly. She had been expecting questions. 

"Dyou like poke?"

Not questions like that though. 

"Poke?"

"I ordered a bunch of food, there's plenty of poke if you want some. I take it you haven't eaten?"

"No..."

"Right, then you're welcome to share."

"Um... thanks..."

He just gave a nod and turned back to the TV. Grace blinked at him in bewilderment. Never in her life had she ever not been bombarded with questions when entering a house. Especially if she looked like this. Especially, it felt, when she didn't want to talk about it. Had she gone to her fathers like she originally intended, he would have been asking her what she was doing there, why she was out so late, if her mother knew where she was, all the usual stuff, all the stuff that felt blindingly obvious but still had to be asked. 

Steve, however, said nothing. 

He allowed her in and from there, he took her appearance for answers and assumed she would speak if and when she wanted to. If he had questions, she honestly couldn't tell. 

Although when the doorbell went again and he flew to the door like lightning into a conductor, she figured maybe he was just hungry. Too hungry to care. 

"Here we go!" He grinned eagerly as he returned to the couch, "I haven't eaten all day, so eat fast if you want to-"

Grace wasn't listening to him. She grabbed the entire container of special fried rice and practically inhaled it. Half of it was down her shirt by the time she stopped to moan in delight.

"This-" she pointed to the container with her mouth full, "this is beautiful!"

Steve blinked in surprise at her. Grace had taken to eating small amounts in front of people. He thought it was because she was trying to be healthy, especially after nagging her father about his cholesterol, but in reality she didn't want her friends to tease her about being messy. She didn't want Danny's friends to either. But when she was hungry, nothing touched the sides, and she was hungry. Too hungry to care.

"There's plenty of it. I know I said eat fast, but don't choke. Danny'll kill me if anything happened to you," Steve warned.

Grace said nothing, but it didn't go unnoticed. Steve's concern was about her choking, not a comment on her weight. That she appreciated. Especially after the incident at her mother's house. She slowed as she ate to make sure she chewed the more solid items, but she still inhaled the rice whole. 

"So," Steve said, through a dumpling, "it's pretty late. You didn't get hungry and stop at a truck or something?"

"I haven't got any money," she shrugged.

"Kame woulda given you some for free. He would have insisted on it."

"Then he would have phone Danno and demanded to know why he was starving me."

"So you don't want Danno to know?"

Grace's chopsticks paused as she froze up. She glanced over at him. Steve and Grace had found themselves sitting on the floor, him with his legs crossed, her on her knees, and Eddie drooling jealousy. They were at the same level though, so when she glanced up at him, he caught her eye. He sucked up the last of the noodles dangling out of his mouth.

"It's alright, we don't have to talk about it, I was just making conversation," he assured her.

"Does Kamekona know you went for a Chinese meal rather than his?" She asked.

"Uh, no, and it's gonna stay that way, right?" Steve warned, pointedly. 

"Only if you pass me those spring rolls."

"You drive a hard bargain."

He chuckled as he reached down to hand her a packet of spring rolls. She ate them in two bites, and wiped her mouth on the back of her hands. 

"Better?" Steve asked.

Grace nodded silently. It hadn't struck her just how empty her stomach was until now. She didn't want to stop eating until her stomach was aching.

"It's not really warm enough to go out at night in shorts yknow. I mean I would, but I've been trained for cold resistance, so," Steve shrugged.

"I didn't mean to be out so late. I was just going to drive to clear my head, then I was going to go to Danno's but..." Grace trailed off with a sigh.

Steve knew better than to question why she didn't go to Danny's. He also knew what Danny was like. Turning up at his place in the middle of the night invited an interrogation of a thousand questions and a general sense of you being in the wrong no matter what happened. Danny made it clear when he expected better from you, even if he didn’t mean to, and _Steve_ felt uncomfortable letting him down, he couldn't imagine how Grace must feel doing so.

"So you were staying with Rachel today?" He asked, calmly.

She shrugged. "I was meant to."

There was another pause as Steve munched quietly on a fried shrimp. Through it he said, "Grace, if you don't want to talk about it-"

"We had an argument. Okay? Me and mom, we had... we had an argument..." Grace said.

Steve waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he quietly urged, "Okay?"

"That's it," she shrugged again, staring down at the food between them. "We had an argument. It was a big one. I... I don't want to face her yet..."

"So you want her to stew a little instead?" Steve asked. Grace flinched. Steve just nodded along, pretending he hadn't noticed. "I get that. I've done that. I mean, I usually do it to criminals, not family, but I get it. Parents, right? They always think they know what's best."

"Uncle Steve can I... can-" Grace pushed her hair out of her eyes and took a shaky breath, "can I stay here tonight? Mom's gonna be furious I haven't called, and -"

"Yeah, I already set up the guest room, you're more than welcome to stay. I mean, I haven't got any spare clothes though, maybe something of Catherine's _somewhere,_ but all I can really offer is one of my shirts," he apologised.

"That's okay," Grace assured him.

She was just grateful for somewhere safe to stay. She didnt mind wearing the same clothes tomorrow, but if anything was on offer, shed take it. Steve glanced up at her uncertainly though.

"You sure? It'll swamp you," he warned.

Grace shrugged. Her mind was on other things. "Do you think I'm unhealthy uncle Steve?"

"I didn't mean-" he began.

"Mom and Stan think I'm unhealthy."

Steve tilted his head, "You? You won the presidents day race, you're officially one of the healthiest kids on the island. I trained you for it, I know how fit you are. Why?"

"Ever since Mom had Charlie she keeps saying the house needs to go on a diet because she can't shift the baby weight. That's fine, I don't care about that, but she keeps giving Charlie candy to keep him quiet and then having a go at me for having an extra dessert with dinner. She nags at me for eating junk with Danno, for eating too much Kamekona's fried shrimp, but it was only a little bit of shaved ice, and I just... I snapped..."

Steve took a deep breath as he considered this. The phrase "I just snapped" was one he was deeply familiar with. People got pushed to far, and ended up in the interrogation room "i don’t know what happened, I just snapped" was a common explanation. Steve had learned over time that if you pushed hard enough even the meek bit back. 

Even the worm would turn.

"Its perfectly understandable. That's an injust system. Shave ice doesn't even have any real calories, it doesn't count as food in my opinion," Steve declared. 

Grace tried to find a smile for him as quietly poked at her food with her chopsticks, but she couldn't. Steve continued to eat. The only way he knew how to stop himself from interrupting was to make it physically impossible to. Danny tended to fill him with coffee for the same result. 

"She said it's because Charlie's only a kid and the only way to keep him quiet while Stan's working is to feed him. Stan said it's because he's a growing boy and I'm practically all grown up, and that I wear clothes that aren't flattering anyway so I should be more careful about what I eat-"

Steve snapped upright, sharply and swallowed hard. His eyes were wide with anger instantly. "He did, did he?"

Grace didn’t register his interruption or the tension in it. "Which doesn't matter anyway because he's got no idea about fashion anyway-"

"No... no idea," Steve agreed darkly. 

At the back of his mind he was quietly trying to decide if he could track down Stan without Danny finding out. He wanted to discuss this topic of interest further, maybe shake him up a little, but alone. If Danny found out, Stan probably wouldn't survive to see Grace's next outfit.

"And I don't really care about him anyway- I know that sounds bad, but it's not like he's ever around so why would I care? And it's not just food y'know? Ever since I was three and they got divorced, Danno's always had more time for me than Mom. At least he tries to. I know he has to work, but he tries. Mom married Stan and we moved here, and I had to go to a new school, and it took ages for us to settle down, and then the arguing started all over again anyway!"

"Danno was never one to give up an argument," Steve chuckled.

"Not their arguing, mom and Stan's arguing!" Grace huffed, "He's always off at work now and whenever he's not around she’s always complaining about how he never helps around the house or helps change Charlie's diapers or anything, and she's always tired. She _always_ tired!"

"She does have a baby Grace," Steve pointed out.

"I know, and he screams half the night away and keeps me away too. I'm tired too uncle Steve! I can't pay attention to the TV because she's hoovering and wants me to help tidy up, I can't focus on my homework because Charlie's screaming about having a bath, I can't eat without Stan telling me I'm making a mess and I'm the only one who's not allowed to complain!"

Grace threw her arms helplessly into the air. Steve watched her as she sank onto the ground, leaning against the couch as she continued to complain. It seemed as though now the floodgates had opened nothing was going to stop her. Not that he would try.

"I tried to watch a movie the other day while Charlie was having a nap, but he woke up half way through and he wanted to watch another episode of this awful cartoon, and mom made me turn off the movie. They only made six episodes of the cartoon uncle Steve! He watches them on repeat! I know them by heart!" 

Steve smiled inwardly to hear Danny's perfect little girl finally let the mask slip. It was nice to see in an odd way. Danny did more than his fair share of complaining and Grace was always all smiles. It was nice to see her take a moment to reach out for help. He was more than willing to give it. 

"It's not fair because I know it's hard for mom and I know I should be helping but it seems like she doesn't have time for me anymore because it's all on _him."_

As she complained, she thrust an arm into the air and spilt the rice across the floor. Eddie belly crawled across the ground to lick up some of the ones furthest thrown. Steve chuckled as he dusted himself off.

"Feel better now?" He asked.

Grace let out a long and deep sigh, and gave a little nod. It did feel better to unload, even if she now felt foolish. Steve nodded back. He set aside the food and set his hands into his lap.

"Gracie, I don't have the answers. I wish I did, but I don't. You're a big sister now, you have to share things with your little brother, like the TV and your mom. It's tough, I remember, but it gets better," he promised.

Grace glanced at him. Her chest was heavy and her eyes were shining with tears again. It felt lighter now that she had unloaded, but she still felt helpless.

She sniffed back a cry as she muttered, "You remember?"

"Oh yeah I remember," Steve nodded, "I remember when Mary was born and they brought her home I was really excited to have someone to play with. But then the attention was off of me because there was a baby and it was like no one cared about me anymore."

Grace swallowed back the aching ball at the base of her throat. "What'd you do?"

"Me? Well, I was boy scout. I packed my bag and took to the jungle to live out there for the rest of my life," Steve shrugged.

Grace's eyes widened at him in surprise. He said it so casually, with such simplicity, that for a second she believed him. 

"You didn’t," she accused. 

His eyes widened at the accusation, "I did - swear to God!"

"No way," a smile curled at the corner of her lips at the idea.

"Yeah!" he insisted, laughing, "I took my army knife, I took some cans of food from the basement, my clothes, my pillow, threw them all in a rucksack and set off!"

Grace's jaw opened in surprise as she thought back to her Aloha Girls camping trip all that time ago. Kate always said Steve was really smart and that he could have won himself a wilderness survival patch without any help from their guide. Grace always knew he had SEAL training on his side and he had told her about being a Boy Scout when they were camping, but this was insane. 

Then again, so was Uncle Steve.

She sat up as she realised he might be telling the truth. "Then what happened?"

"Well I set up camp. I found a tree that was bent over and I used it as a support to build a den, and made a carpet of leaves to sleep on. I was in that jungle all day just waiting for someone to come and find me and see that I didn't need them because I lived in the jungle now."

"Like the jungle book?"

"Exactly! Except instead of a friendly bear, what I found were wild boars."

"Wild boars?!"

"Oh yeah. From what I remember there were about a hundred, maybe a thousand, but there was probably only three. But they were _huge._ Tusks out to here!"

Steve held his arm out halfway between himself and Grace as he embellished his story. Grace was enthralled. There was an uncertain sense of wonder in her eyes, and Steve greatly preferred that to the tears.

"These boars, they were hungry too. I don't know if you know this but wild boars can eat humans-"

"Boars will eat anything they can get access too, including flesh, and have tusks to rip open carcasses to get to the bone. Their jaws are strong enough to break a bone in half to eat the marrow," Grace said, firmly.

Steve blinked in surprise as she took the words right out of his mouth. "So you do know."

She nodded eagerly. "You told me."

He frowned. "I did? When?"

"When I said I wanted a pet pig. Remember? I didn't believe you so you made me ask Max and he told me all about how pigs digestion works, and how Uncle Jerry had to wait for one to poop a bullet."

"Ah. Yes. I remember..." Steve wrinkled his nose as he remembered arguing with Danny about whether or not it was an appropriate story for a child. With hindsight he had lost that argument. "I should work on my bedtimes stories for kids huh?"

"No way, your stories were my favourite!" Grace argued.

He grinned proudly, "yeah?"

"Yeah! And you're not done. There were three huge boar who wanted to eat you. Did they do it?" She urged.

"Did they- yes. Yeah, they did, I'm actually a ghost, that’s my big secret, you got it out of me well done!" Steve scoffed.

"Uncle Steve!" She laughed and shoved him playfully.

"I'm sorry, but you asked a stupid question, it needed a stupid answer!" He laughed back.

She had crept forward while listening to the story and now the two of them were leaning back against the couch together. He slung an arm around her shoulders, and she stared at up at him, enthralled as ever in his embellishment stories.

"Where was I? Right, right, wild boars. I didn't want to be eaten, right, but these things were looking at me like I was lunch so I did the only thing I could think of."

"What?"

"I ran."

 _"You_ ran?"

"Uh huh, I did. I ran and I ran and I _ran_ from them - and they were chasing after me! I was terrified, scared for my life, I thought they were gonna catch me and kill me right there in the jungle and no one would ever know."

"What happened?"

"They caught me and ate me alive. What'd you think happened? I ran out of the jungle! I ran straight into the road right in front of a cop car. They worked with my dad, they took me straight home, told him everything. He was a cop too, y’know, Duke still teases me about it."

"And he was mad?" She asked uncertainly. 

"No, actually he was pretty impressed. Have you ever outrun a wild boar?" Steve asked. 

Grace shook her head, "ut uh."

"Well it's pretty tough. Good exercise, never try it. But he patted me on the shoulder, cleaned up my wounds and made dinner," Steve explained. 

"Wounds?"

"Well running full speed through the jungle with a rucksack, you get scrapes and bruises."

"Didn't he even notice you were gone?" She asked, "What about your mom?"

"Well when mom came home she went hog-wild on my dad for not phoning her. Apparently she'd been out looking for me for hours before HPD told her what happened. In Dad's defence they didn't really have cell phones back then," Steve explained.

It was an odd and slightly sickly feeling to remember how Doris had used to be. Once upon a time she was just a mother and school teacher and nothing more. His mother. And she had hugged him so tightly when he was in danger that it was a feeling he had recalled every time he made it home from a mission. 

That felt like a life time ago. Another person although to the one knew knew today. 

Tainted. 

"So even though she was focusing on the baby, she dropped everything to come and look for you?" Grace asked.

"That's what parents do for their kids," Steve nodded as he tried to pretend that he could imagine the Doris he knew today being as protective as she had when he was little. "They go hog-wild trying to keep them safe, even if they put themselves in danger. Danno always says it's because you’ve never love anyone in the world until you love your kid."

Grace's shoulders sagged as she asked, quietly, "Then why hasn't mom come looking for me?"

"Probably because you're the type of kid who can outrun boars. And because she's probably giving you time. Waiting for you to come home on your own before she starts going crazy," Steve assured her.

"Or maybe she's just too tired to come and look for me," Grace grumbled. 

"Have you got a GPS in your car?" Steve asked. 

"What's that got to do with - she's tracking my GPS?" 

Grace caught on quick. He couldn’t help feeling a little proud. 

"I would if I was her."

She scowled. "So she can ease her own mind, great. She still won't apologise for yelling at me for wanting dessert though."

Steve felt a rumble in his stomach at the idea of dessert. Apparently not even a mountain of Chinese food could fill him up tonight. 

"Well we can fix that," Steve suggested. 

"We can?" Grace frowned.

"Duh. I know a place that does 24/7 pancakes and ice cream, want me to order some in?" He smirked.

She chuckled and shook her head. "Thanks uncle Steve, but I'm not hungry anymore."

"That makes sense. You tired? Or dyou wanna watch something on TV? I know this great cartoon, but they only made six episodes-"

Grace elbowed him in the ribs as he teased her. He grunted at the shot, but turned it into a chuckle. She smiled again, even though she didn't want to. 

"Can we watch the notebook again?" She asked quietly.

They hadn't watched it since Halloween years ago when Catherine had suggested watching it. Steve had grumbled to Danny about inaccuracies making the movie ridiculous, but Grace like it. Not the film in particular, but being bundled up between her family, sharing popcorn and making up for lost time. She liked that.

"Sure Gracie, anything you like," Steve grinned. 

She grinned back, wider. Knowing he didn't like the movie only made it sweeter. They climbed onto the couch and Steve put his feet up on the coffee table. Eddie shuffled underneath his legs, snuffling along like a living Roomba.

As the movie started, Grace curled up beside Steve. She pulled the blanket over the two of them as they settled down on the couch to watch. 

Grace stifled a yawn as she laid her head against his ribcage and he laid an arm around her shoulders. Steve was warm. His toned abs were far more comfortable than they had any right to be. Snuggled down on the couch, using him as a pillow, was far more natural and comfortable than Grace ever expected. Than Steve ever expected. He could feel her gentle breathing rise and fall with her shoulders. She was asleep within minutes. 

Steve scooped Grace up effortlessly. She had grown up since the last time he had to carry her up the stairs to bed but he could still carry her with minimal effort. He still kept her head against the crook on his arm, and she still instinctively clung onto his shirt. He laid her gently onto the spare bed, and tucked her in as best he could. Grace curled up against the pillow, burying her head into it as her eyelids fluttered. Steve chuckled to himself. 

When they first met, Grace had seemed reluctant to talk to any of Danny's friends. Danny had left her in the care of strangers when he went to save the day. But now she was in trouble and couldn't think of anywhere else to go, she had come to him. Because she trusted him. 

Because they were ohana.

Steve felt a surge of affection for her. He had watched her grow up. He had loved her as her own person, separate to Danny, since the day they finally met. Whatever Danny thought, she was Steve's little girl too. He loved her. Grace didn't need to outrun boars for him to be proud of her either. He just was. He leaned down to plant a kiss gently on her hairline. 

"Night kiddo," he whispered. 

She yawned, still mostly asleep, and murmured back, "night dad."

Steve's eyes widened as his heart stopped. He staggered out of the room, and leaned his back against the closed door. Steve clutched his chest over his thumping heart as it raced back into life. He could have cried. Instead, he beamed a dazzling beam. He held that ball of pride in his chest for the rest of the week, and never bothered to tell anyone why.

They didn't need to know.

This was his secret. His and his daughters.

....

Danny woke up to a thundering against his door. When he opened it a crack, Rachel barged her way in. Her eyes were red raw and she was pacing and running her hand through her hair, ranting so frantically that Danny couldn't quite understand.

"Rach - Rach- Take a breath Rach! I can't understand a word you’re saying, slow down," he urged. 

She couldn't slow down, so she just repeated herself.

"Grace stormed off last night after we had a massive row and I thought she'd come home when she got hungry but she didn't and she’s been gone all night and I don't know where she is!"

Danny's heart froze in his chest. "Grace is missing?"

Rachel looked a wreck already. She clearly hadn't slept all night. Now she was forced to say the words out loud to _Danny_ of all people, she looked almost broken too.

"The GPS on her car says she's been parked in Piikoi street all night but we don't know anyone who lives there-"

"Piikoi street?" Danny interrupted. The address pinged instantly his head, "27 Piikoi street is Steve's house."

Rachel blinked at him, her eyes glistening with tears, "Steve?"

Danny's mind was slowly crunching back into gear as it dawned on him what had happened. "Steve sent me a text last night saying I've got her, I had no idea what he meant, now it's crystal clear."

Any concerns that had started brewing in Danny died instantly. If Grace had gone to Steve, he was certain she was safe.

"Grace went to Steve?" Rachel blinked in surprise. 

"Only one way to find out."

Danny grabbed his jacket and his car keys and ushered Rachel out of the door. Steve had been awake for a while by that point but phoning him would be useless. By now he was a mile out at sea, just like every morning. Danny knew his routine well. He also knew he left the backdoor unlocked when he went out to swim. 

Both Danny and Steve were surprised when Danny walked through the backdoor and into his kitchen. 

"What, you didn’t feel like knocking?" Steve grinned.

"Like you even know what knocking is," Danny scoffed.

Rachel shoved past Danny and into the kitchen to demand, "Is Grace here?"

Steve flicked his spatula towards the door. "She's in the shower, she'll probably be done in a minute."

Rachel almost collapsed in relief. She clung to Danny to steady herself. "Thank God."

Steve paid no attention to this as he casually asked, "Either of you two want a falafel?"

"I could eat," Danny murmured as he took in Steve.

The man had put on his barbeque apron, and was practically dancing as he shifted from foot to foot while cooking. He had a goofy grin too. He was happy. Strangely happy.

"I'm far too sick to eat," Rachel sighed.

"Why don’t you go wait in the living room?" Steve asked. 

Rachel squeezed his arm. "Thank you so much for looking after her Steve, although you could have called!"

"I was going to, but I don't have your number and Gracie's phone died," Steve lied. 

"I'm sure you could have found a way around that," Rachel said, pointedly. 

Steve had a lot he could have said. A lot he wanted to say. But no matter what he thought, it wasn't his place. 

"Why don't you wait in the living room and I'll bring you some breakfast when I'm done?" He said, pointedly.

Rachel hummed dubiously and wandered out into the living room to wait. She was on the edge of her seat, still anxiously biting her nails as she waited to see her daughter in the flesh. Danny, however, just folded his arms. 

"Why are you so happy?" He challenged. 

"Huh? What? I can't just be happy?" Steve asked,

"Y’know sometimes normal people-"

"Normal people does not include you Steve, don't even try it," Danny interrupted drily.

"I'm just happy. I had a nice dream, it made me happy," Steve shrugged.

"Uh huh..." Danny eyed him suspiciously.

It was hard to lie to his partner. No one knew him better. But no one would be more devastated at the idea of Grace calling another man dad either. Steve would probably tell him eventually. One day. Maybe. 

"Why aren't you swimming? I thought, uh, I thought all good days start when you're in the sea or some crap like that," Danny said. 

"All good days start with surfing," Steve corrected. 

"Exactly, some crap like that," Danny said.

"That's Kono's mantra, not mine, I just like the water and it's good exercise. I'm not out there though, because I don't like swimming with keys poking me in the side, and I didn't think it was a good idea to leave Grace alone in an unlocked house," Steve explained. 

"No, no that’s not a good idea," Danny agreed.

"Which you proved when you broke in," Steve said.

Danny frowned defensively, "Break in? I didn’t break in - what did I break, I just opened the door!"

"A door to a private property you didn't have permission to open," Steve countered. 

"You said I was always welcome," Danny countered. 

"You are. So, incidentally, is Grace," Steve said.

"Then that's permission," Danny countered firmly.

Steve raised his head to look at him. Danny folded his arms and stubbornly held his gaze. He still had bed head, and his jacket barely hid his pyjamas. The man had clearly rolled out of bed to come straight here. He must have been hungry. 

"Where do we stand on the falafel?" Steve asked.

"I said yes," Danny said.

"Good, then go sit out there and wait for it," Steve ordered.

Danny eyed him again, but decided not to bite the hand that feeds. He followed Rachel to the sitting room and chose to sit in the arm chair, furthest from Rachel. Eddie hurried over to welcome him.

While Danny was distracted by the dog, he didn't notice Grace stride past. Her mind was fixed on the kitchen, following the smell as she went. She didn't even notice her parents. Grace beamed at Steve from the kitchen doorway and threw out her arms to show off her outfit.

"See Uncle Steve, I told you I could make it work!"

Steve looked up and laughed. Once he had got the laughter under control, he grinned as he looked her up and down. The green shirt with "navy" printed across the front was much too big for her, but she had scrunched the excess fabric together into a knot, and tucked it into the shorts. The shorts were also _way_ too big for her. By the sunshine grin she was giving him, she knew that too.

"The shirt looks good, but uh, well I'm pretty sure you could fit both your legs into one of those," he said.

"That's what the belt's for," she said, as if that were obvious.

Her belt she'd found in Mary's old things. It was on as tight as it could possibly go, and the excess had been weaved back through the belt loops to it practically wrapped her twice. Even with that it still sagged when she walked.

"I think we can do better if we find something of Catherine's," Steve said, "or, I think Kono left a skirt here once I think-"

"She did?" Grace challenged suspiciously. 

"It was after surfing, she brought a change of clothes," Steve said, pointedly to quell her suspicious mind.

"I'll wear Kono's clothes, she has good taste," Grace nodded.

"Or I could just bring you a change of your own clothes," Rachel said, pointedly. 

Grace spun on her heels in alarm as she finally realised that they weren't alone. "Mom! Dad! What are you-"

"I think you know the answer to that," Danny said, pointedly.

The look of betrayal on her face as she turned to Steve struck him to his core. "You called them?"

"Hey, check my phone, I didn't call anyone!" He insisted urgently. 

"Your GPS said Piikoi street, it wasn't hard to figure out which house," Rachel said, firmly.

Danny decided that this was not the time to point out that she had, in no way figured out which house Grace was staying in. 

"I sincerely hope I never seen you in your own version of that shirt," Danny said. 

Steve chose not to comment, but he was quietly certain that if Grace ever decided to join the Navy then she would rise very quickly through the ranks. She had the intelligence and the drive to go far. And if presidents day taught them anything it was that she was as stubborn as her father, which was enough to achieve anything she put her mind to.   
Yeah, she'd be an asset to the navy.

"I could join the navy if I wanted to!" She argued stubbornly. 

"Don't get distracted from the argument Gracie," Steve warned. 

Grace frowned. She nodded and tried to focus on what was really upsetting her.

"You can't just go running away from home whenever you don’t get your own way Grace! You had me worried sick-" Rachel began, sharply.

"I didn't run away from home mom I just left!" Grace argued.

"You've been out all night, not at home-" Danny began.

"I'm at home! I've been coming here since I was eight, this is just as much my home as either of your houses. At least there's no arguing here!" Grace argued.

Rachel's eyes widened as she felt Danny's eyes on her. Steve stood behind Grace, arms folded, ready to back her up if she needed him, but she seemed to have this under control. 

"You've been arguing with Stan again?" Danny asked quietly. 

"That is not the problem here-" Rachel began.

"Yes it is! You're so busy arguing with Stan and Danno and looking after Charlie that you don’t even have time to listen to me anymore! All I wanted was shaved ice because you let Charlie have the last cookie!" Grace argued.

"If you had shaved ice I would have had to give Charlie shaved ice too-" Rachel began.

"Well you could have told him no. Explained to him, rationally, that Grace is having shaved ice because there aren't any cookies left," Danny said.

Rachel glared at him. "Are you trying to tell me how to parent my children?"

"Your child. At least one of them is mine too," Danny said, sharply.

Rachel's jaw tightened. She knew he was just trying to get back at her for saying Charlie was his when he wasn't, but it hit too close to home. He had no idea what secrets were eating at her.

"Danny that is well below the belt-" she began sharply.

" _You’re doing it again!"_

Grace shouting caught both of her parents attention. Danny back away as she glared furiously at her mother.

"You’re so busy arguing with everyone that you're not even listening to me! You're not listening to anyone, you just want us to do exactly what you want exactly when you want us to, but life isn’t like that mom! You have to be more flexible! You have to shut up and listen because everyone gets louder when they're not being heard and then no one hears anything and everything falls apart!"

"Grace, I didn't-" Rachel interrupted.

"I don’t think she’s finished," Steve said, firmly.

"I'm not finished!" Grace agreed.

Rachel buttoned her lip as Grace glanced up at Steve. She silently thanked him, and he winked back. It didn't go unnoticed. Danny frowned to himself. He knew Grace was fond of Steve, but he was wondering if he'd underestimated how deep their bond was.

"If you're so worried about me why didn't you phone me, or come find me yourself instead of running to Danno to track me down? You told him to respect my privacy but you don’t give me any! There's no peace or quiet or privacy in your house until Stan wants it, and I can't do it anymore mom, I can't, it's driving me crazy! I cant even do homework anymore! I know it's hard now Charlie's running rings around you, and I know it's hard that Stan's not here, but I am... I always am... and I hate being stuck in the middle of an argument you're having with someone who isn't even there."

There was a long pause before Steve rested a hand on her back.

"You finished?" He asked quietly. 

She nodded uncertainly. "I think so."

"Falafel's on the table," he said.

Grace looked up at him, and nodded again. She slunk away to find her breakfast and left a heavy air behind her.

"Stan's work makes it hard for him to help raise Charlie huh?" Danny asked quietly. 

"It's hard for him to wake up in the middle of the night and feed the baby when he's in Vegas. I feel like a single mother again," Rachel said.

"That's not fair, that's not fair!" Danny argued, "I was working as a cop, I couldn't just drop everything to come home, he could if he wanted to! Besides, every time I left for a shift, every time I came home, _every time_ I checked in on Grace. Every time. My head would barely hit the pillow and she'd cry, and I'd get right back up for her so you could sleep. Don't pretend you were a single mother, we were fine for two years after we had Grace."

Rachel bowed her head at the memories. She would be utterly exhausted and mostly asleep before Danny came home late at night. She remembered how exhausted he always looked. How much work had wrecked him. The high pressure, the long days, the hard nights, the emotional turmoil of it. Sometimes he'd drop down, face first into his pillow, still in his uniform, and he ready to stay there for eight hours or more.

Then Grace would cry.

Danny would heave a sigh, and push himself back to his feet. Rachel would find him on the couch, holding Grace to his chest, both of them sound asleep with the bottle fallen on the floor.

Danny put in the hours.

"No... sorry... you're right, you're an excellent father... Charlie could use someone like you," She sighed.

"Not someone like me, he needs his father," Danny said, firmly, "You need to talk to Stan,"

"My marriage is none of your business," Rachel muttered defensively. 

"It is when it causes my daughter to runaway from home," Danny stated.

Rachel had no response. She had no idea how they had gotten here. Small arguments at home that she had forgotten about had piled up and piled up and now she looked back she was beginning to notice them. How quick she was to stamp them out. Even if that meant resentment. 

She had put it down to Grace being a hormonal teenager. She never stopped to wonder if the pregnancy hormones were to blame.

"She's always welcome here," Steve said.

"Why did she come here though? Why didn't she come to me?" Danny asked.

"Probably because you always treat her like she’s a perfect princess and if she does anything wrong you look so heartbroken that she cant stand causing it. That's a lot of pressure for a kid," Rachel said.

Danny frowned. "I don’t- i dont do that, I don’t- Steve do I do that?"

"Whenever you're yelling at me I know we're okay and you’re just irritated, but when you go quiet I know I'm in the wrong," Steve admitted. 

Danny's face fell. "I didn’t... I never meant to..."

Whatever he had meant to do, he had always seen Grace as his monkey. In his eyes she was the same cheeky toddler who pretended to dance with the monkeys through the glass at the zoo. One full of love and laughter. That little girl could do no wrong. But as she'd grown up, right and wrong had become shades of grey, and she was trying to navigate them as best she could, just like everyone else.

God knew he had done some bad things in the name of justice. 

Maybe he could cut her some breaks.

"Maybe we could both work on our parenting..." Danny muttered. 

"More family therapy might help," Rachel suggested tentatively. 

Danny wanted to groan but he glanced to Steve. Steve gave him an encouraging look. Danny sighed.

"I'll see if I can fit it in," he said.

Rachel had meant for herself and Stan more than for Danny, but his willingness it took her by such surprise that she felt she shouldn’t refuse. That filled her with dread. Therapists had a way of unravelling unwanted secrets and exposing them for the world to see. That might cause more issues than it solved.

Steve smiled to himself. Already this little broken family was finding ways to heal itself. He was rather proud to be part of catalyst to help them.

"Is there any more falafel Uncle Steve?" Grace called.

"Coming right up," Steve beamed.

Steve fed all of them. It was slightly awkward, but Steve was oddly cheery about the whole thing. This big empty house felt more like a home when he could fill it with people. Especially family. Eventually though, even that had to end.

"C'mon monkey, it's time to give uncle Steve his house back," Danny declared. 

Danny pressed a kiss into Grace's hair as he stood up. 

"Okay Danno," she said.

Steve smiled to himself as he watched her stand up. She hadn't bothered to try and find Kono's old skirt. The shorts would have to do. What she had dug out from God knows where though, was an old pair of flip-flops that just about fit her. At least she wasn't wandering around bare foot anymore.

Steve leaned against the door as he watched Rachel explain to Danny that since Grace had driven here and Rachel had taken a cab to Danny's house, Grace would have to drive her home. Danny wasn’t thrilled by the idea. If she was feeling uncomfortable at Rachel's, she should stay with him.

Steve chuckled to himself. Danny and Rachel could argue all they wanted but in the end the choice was Grace's. She would decide where she wanted to stay, and if that was with one of them, that was fine, but she was welcome here too. More than welcome. And Grace saw him as family now too, so he was in the ring without either of them knowing.

Maybe Steve would tell Danny one day. When he was more comfortable in his status as a single parent. Just to let him know that he was never alone. That Steve always had his back, even with things like this.   
Yeah. One day he'd tell him.

"What'd you say to Uncle Steve?" Danny said to Grace.

Grace glanced up. Steve waved. That wasn't enough. She ran up the steps of the lalani - stumbling over her flip-flops as she went - and threw her arms around him. He chuckled as he hugged her back, just as tight. When she let go, she beamed at him.

"Aloha dad, mahalo for having me!"

One day Danny would find out Grace's extra parent. He hadn't expected it to be today though. Steve's heart beat harder as his eyes met Danny's. He wasn’t sure what to make of his expression. It was almost completely blank. If he was furious, Steve couldn't tell. Then, Danny opened his mouth.

"You know this means you have to come to family therapy too right?"


End file.
